Sunday Drive: Dumbarton Pier

Updated 10:43 pm, Saturday, April 26, 2014

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Sunday Drive: Dumbarton Pier

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What you'll see: At Dumbarton Pier, you get unique perspectives across familiar landscapes. Take a walk. Cast a line. Ride your mountain bike. You get big views of the South Bay and sightings of shorebirds and waterfowl, both migrants and residents, and a place to fish. The pier is an extension of the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge, the heart of roughly 30,000 acres of tidal wetlands.

Location: Dumbarton Pier is located at the eastern foot of the Dumbarton Bridge, adjacent to and just south of the bridge.

Walk: From the parking lot, it's about a quarter mile walk to the end of the pier. You get views south across the South Bay, and on clear days, to Mount Hamilton and Mount Umunhum, which rise up above each side of the Santa Clara Valley. For longer trips, you can connect from the parking lot to the Shoreline Trail.

Fish: The pier extends to the edge of the main channel of the South Bay. Pick a high tide and first two hours of outgoing tide. Use a hunk of squid for bait for smoothhound sharks, bat rays and leopard sharks, a chunk of pileworm for perch and jacksmelt.

Visitor Center: Located at refuge headquarters and set on hilltop with an observation deck for views of the marsh.

History note: Through the early 1990s, Rep. Don Edwards was a key figure who protected South Bay wetlands.

Cost: Parking and access are free.

GPS mapping: Use Marshlands Road, Fremont.

How to get there: From San Francisco and the Peninsula: Take Highway 101 to Redwood City (27 miles south of San Francisco) and Exit 406 for Highway 84/East Marsh Road-Dumbarton Bridge. Take that exit for 0.2 miles to Highway 84 East/East Marsh Road. Turn left on Highway 84E and go 0.3 miles to Bayfront Expressway. Turn right (still 84) and go 3 miles and continue over Dumbarton Bridge for 4.6 miles to the exit for Thornton Avenue (toward Paseo Padre Parkway). Take that exit 0.2 miles to Thornton. Turn right on Thornton and drive 0.6 miles to Marshlands Road. Turn right and drive 3.4 miles (you will pass spur to Visitor Center) to parking lot at foot of Dumbarton Pier. From East Bay counties: Take Interstate 880 to Fremont (about 20 miles south of Oakland) and exit for Highway 84/Dumbarton Bridge. Take that exit and continue 0.4 miles toward Dumbarton Bridge, merge with Highway 84 and drive 1.8 miles to exit for Paseo Padre Parkway/Thornton Avenue. Take that exit 0.2 miles to Thornton. Turn left on Thornton and drive 0.8 miles to Marshlands Road. Turn right and drive 3.4 miles (you will pass spur to Visitor Center) to parking lot at foot of Dumbarton Bridge.

Distances: 10 miles from Union City/Fremont, 16 miles from Redwood City, 28 miles from Dublin, 40 miles from San Francisco, 46 miles from Walnut Creek, 50 miles from Sausalito.

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